Caroline Haigh
About
Biography
Biography
Caroline graduated from the Tonmeister course in 1990 (winning the Jaques Levy memorial prize for her final year research project in bassoon acoustics). She began her audio industry career working as a digital editor for the Decca Record Company at the recording centre in Kilburn. Here she worked on projects from solo guitar to large scale opera with internationally acclaimed artists such as Vladimir Ashkenazy, Radu Lupu, Kiri te Kanawa, Sir Georg Solti (Vienna Philharmonic), Charles Dutoit (and the Orchestre Symphonique de Montreal), Christopher Hogwood (Academy of Ancient Music), Philip Pickett and Riccardo Chailly (Amsterdam Concertgebouw Orchestra). She was also involved in analogue-to-digital remastering of Decca's extensive back catalogue, including several of Britten's operas conducted by the composer himself.
In 1996, she moved to EMI when she took up a post as classical editor at Abbey Road Studios. Here she continued to work with more of the best-loved classical artists including Sir Simon Rattle (with the CBSO and the Berlin Philharmonic), Martha Argerich, Kings College Choir, Sabine Meyer Octet (Berlin Philharmonic wind players) and the contemporary composer Thomas Ades. She completed many opera projects with conductor Tony Pappano (orchestra of the Royal Opera House), Angela Gheorghiu, Roberto Alagna and Placido Domingo. She worked on several film soundtrack albums including 'Star Wars' and 'Back to Titanic' and acted as post-production producer for a large part of Stephen Kovacevich's complete Beethoven Piano Sonatas project over several years.
While still working at Abbey Road, Caroline was involved in delivering visiting workshops in classical editing and production to the Tonmeister students, and in 2009 she took up a permanent teaching post at the University. Since then she has taught on the Recording Techniques modules at all levels, as well as second year Electro-acoustics where she is interested in finding ways to foster a better connection between the students' understanding of the mathematical models used and their practical sense of the engineering problems involved.
She introduced coursework in film and TV sound post-production, and a greater degree of formative practical feedback to assist the development of practical skills. She is very keen to maintain industry links, and she runs the programme of practical workshops bringing in professional musicians (classical and pop) and visiting engineers (including Decca classical engineer John Dunkerley, and pop engineer Dom Monks).
Between September 2013 - September 2021, Caroline was the Senior Placement Tutor, and continues to support students as they move into the workplace.
Book
In October 2020 Caroline was lead author for the book "Classical Recording: A Practical Guide in the Decca Tradition" (Haigh, Dunkerley, Rogers) - listed in the publications tab above.
In January 2026 the second edition was published, with updated material on classical overdubbing, listening skills and working with sound and picture.
The book has become a standard textbook for enthusiasts and courses all over the world. It is currently being translated into Chinese and Italian.
Teaching
Caroline teaches on the following modules:
- TON1031 (First year Audio Engineering)
- TON1032 (First year Recording Techniques and Listening Skills)
- TON2014 (Second year Electro-Acoustics)
- TON3018 (Final year Portfolio of Recordings)
Publications
Highlights
Classical Recording: A Practical Guide in the Decca Tradition (2nd Edition January 2026)
Authors: Caroline Haigh, John Dunkerley, Mark Rogers
Publisher: Focal Press as part of the "Audio Engineering Society presents" series
ISBN 9781032857053
Link to the Routledge Website
Link to Amazon
"Classical Recording: A Practical Guide in the Decca Tradition is the authoritative guide to all aspects of recording acoustic classical music, providing detailed descriptions, diagrams, and photographs of fundamental recording techniques such as the Decca Tree, post-production workflow, and the practicalities of working on location.
This updated and revised second edition has expanded sections on critical listening and microphone placement troubleshooting, as well as two new chapters on overdubbing and the audiovisual considerations of filming a classical music performance. The book gives practical advice on the other essential skills involved in successfully producing a classical recording, including: the practicalities of running a recording session on location, the skills needed as producer, working in imperfect surroundings, using artificial reverberation alongside the real thing, dealing with overdubs, working with sound and picture, workflow from session to edit suite, and creating a seamless edited master.
Written by engineers with years of experience working for Decca and Abbey Road Studios and as freelancers, Classical Recording equips the student, the interested amateur, and the practising professional with the required knowledge and confidence to tackle everything from a solo piano to opera."